


Qfhg Pvvk Hdrnnrmt

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Bonding, By author I mean me not Ford, Fluff, Gen, Grunkle Stan Needs A Hug, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Pines Family Fluff, Sadly, Sea Stans, Stan O' War II, There's like only one hug tho, Waddles is only mentioned, Worry, apologies for inconsistencies, author has never used skype, bill sucks, but he's dead, everybody loves each other and no one hates anybody, except bill, ford is a confused owl and is not equipped for this much hugging, kraken - Freeform, mabel and dipper are too pure for this world, too many tags, yaaaaaaay!, yaaaaay!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-15 21:18:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10557854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: The Stans are on a boat and a Skype call is quite eventful.





	1. Beginning

**Thursday Afternoon**

The computer screen shone brightly in the cabin of the boat. A bright sweater-clad figure was beaming brightly up at the occupant of the chair across from the screen, "Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Stan! You wouldn't believe what happened! So me and Dipper-"

Somewhere from the back of the room Dipper shouted, "Dipper and I, Mabel!"

Mabel frowned, "Oh, poo Dippingsauce! You know what happens when you correct people's grammar!"

Stanley leaned back in his chair with a creak and chuckled, "I'd love to know what happens when someone corrects your grammar, pumpkin."

Mabel paused, her face shocked and somewhat sad for minute before she smiled widely, showing straight brace-less teeth, "Bad things, Grunkle Stan! Remember that! Also, don't punch anybody." She waved her finger at him, "No punching. I usually spray them with glitter! Can you remember that, Grunkle Stan?"

He smiled at his great niece, "Sure, sweetheart."

"So anyway, ME and Dipper were coming home from school today and Waddles was in our front yard laying around with his cute pink tummy in the air!" Mabel paused a second to go, "He was so cute!"

Grunkle Stan's grin grew wider at Mabel's enthusiasm.

Mabel resumed her story, "So, Waddles was rolling around and guess what?"

"What?"

"He found a LADY FRIEND!"

Stan winced at her exuberant screech of delight. Amidst the noise, he somehow heard Dipper's hurried, "You'll break his hearing aid again, Mabel!"

Mabel quieted immediately and looked at her Grunkle worriedly.

"No harm done, sweetie."

She smiled again and it was as if a rainbow had just appeared on a rainy day, or if the sun had unexpectedly emerged from gloomy clouds, "Good! So, it turns out that she escaped from the petting zoo! They were so glad we found her that they said Waddles could visit her anytime! She's pink also, but she's got this brown spot on her back and the top of her head! She looks like she's wearing a brown fez, Grunkle Stan."

"I think I'm beginning to like this new pig of yours, Mabel."

Mabel's grin turned into a mischievous smirk, "I thought you didn't like any pigs, Grunkle Stan."

Grunkle Stan backtracked hurriedly at his comment, "Uh, I don't! I just, um, think this new one... Uh, would behave better than Waddles."

Mabel gave him a knowing smile, she knew Grunkle Stan had essentially half adopted Waddles already- sneaking him his favorite foods and giving the pig a scratch when he thought no one was looking.

"Well anyway, Gloria the pig really likes Waddles! I'm counting the days until they decide to get married and have babies! Imagine, Grunkle Stan! Little Waddles' running around!"

She squealed as Grunkle Stan groaned, "Oh, unfortunately I can, Mabel."

Dipper moved into view, clutching a light blue book to his chest, "You're lucky Grunkle Stan, that's all she's been talking about for a couple days now."

Mabel huffed at her twin.

Dipper grinned back at her, "But Grunkle Stan, look! Remember when you told us about the time you encountered the Jersey Devil? When you visited Glass Shard Beach?"

Stanley nodded.

Dipper began flipping through the pages, the dark blue pine tree stretching out starkly across the front, "Well I catalogued it and wrote down what you said! Do you like it?"

He showed Stan a page with the creature neatly drawn in and notes scattered around it in blue ink. Stanley nodded, "You got it down perfectly, kiddo."

"Do you really think so, Grunkle Stan?"

If Stanley had been there, he would've ruffled Dipper's hair affectionately- er, uh, gruffly. But he wasn't there so he settled for a, "Of course! Very realistic."

Dipper blushed and hugged the book to his chest. Mabel snorted, "I told you it was good, Dip-dop," she leaned into the screen, "He wouldn't believe me, Grunkle Stan."

Stan frowned, "I think it's so good that Ford should see it!" Dipper smiled as his great uncle hollered into the bowels of the ship, "Hey, Ford!"

They heard a thud from above him and Stan grumbled, "Aw, he probably fell on the deck again," Stan turned to look at the kids, "For all his bragging, he doesn't have very good sea legs. I'll be back in a sec!"

"Sure, Grunkle Stan!"

Stan lumbered off and Mabel smiled at her brother.

They both looked up in astonishment when Ford came huffing and puffing into sight before plopping down in the chair with a smile, "Did Stan yell for me? I didn't know you were calling."

Mabel's mouth opened and closed. Grunkle Ford had come from further in the Stan O' War II, so what was on the deck with Grunkle Stan...?

Dipper's eyes widened, "Grunkle Ford, you weren't on deck were you?"

Ford's smile slowly faded, "No..."

Mabel's arms waved, "Grunkle Stan's up there, Grunkle Ford, because he heard you fall!" Dipper nodded at his sister and then looked back at Stanford, "But you just said you weren't up there!"

They both asked, "So who's up there?"

Ford turned pale as the ship shuddered violently, "Hang on kids, I'll be right back."

Grunkle Ford vanished from the screen, his steps thumping as they got quieter and quieter. There was silence for a few seconds as the children waited breathlessly.

Suddenly, something roared and the connection timed out, leaving Dipper and Mabel wondering what had happened to their Grunkles.


	2. Middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waiting is always the hardest part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late guys! Yesterday was Good Friday and I was a bit preoccupied. :)

**Friday Night**

It was ten o'clock at night in the Pines household.

Mr. And Mrs. Pines had retired to their bedroom. Their twins had gone to bed an hour earlier claiming they were extremely tired.

Or, they thought the twins had.

Mabel huddled on her bed, clutching Waddles. The laptop was open, it's soft blue and white glow bathing her in an ethereal light.

Skype wasn't working. Either whatever contraption Fiddleford had rigged to get wifi from that far out was dead, or else...

She didn't want to think about it.

A head poked up, hands grasping the edge of the bunk bed, "Mabel, I don't think they're going to call us this late. When they accidentally called us at midnight, they started keeping better track of the time zones."

Mabel sniffled, "But Dipper, what if they _can't_ call? What if...?"

Dipper clambered up into her bunk bed and gave her a hug, "They'll call us, Mabel, they will. They've survived worse. They'll survive whatever is happening to them now."

Mabel huddled in her brother's embrace as Waddles snuffled contentedly into her pajamas, "Besides, Mabel, we can always call up Fiddleford and see if the tracker we asked him to sneak on their ship is still functioning."

Mabel gave a watery laugh remembering that incident.

They'd called Fiddleford when they heard he was helping with the modifications of the old fishing ship that was to be the Stan O' War II. Mabel politely inquired, with Dipper nodding in the background, if Fiddleford could 'please please please rig up a tracker so they could find them if it was an emergency.' Fiddleford had snickered, his eyes twinkling and said, "Darling, I've already done it."

"Mabel, do you want me to stay up here tonight? Like when we were little?"

Mabel nodded, "Yes, please, Dippingsauce."

She pressed the power button with a click and the eerie glow of the screen vanished leaving them in the dark and surrounded by the unknown. 


	3. End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is fine.
> 
>  
> 
> Mostly.

**Saturday Morning**

Mabel blinked sleepily, her hair tangled on the pillow. Something was ringing. She frowned and shifted sleepily. Dipper stirred beside her.

The ringing was still loud, almost in her ear.

Dipper groaned and attempted to pull the blankets over his head.

The realization seeped into their heads at the same time. The twins sat up suddenly, Mabel blinking and Dipper already moving towards the silver computer decorated with alien saucers and sparkly 'u da best' stickers.

They almost fell over each other in their haste to the machine. Mabel pressed the button, her eyes wide. Dipper squeezed in beside her as she answered the Skype call.

The first thing she saw was Grunkle Ford's back as he fussed over something in a chair. The thing responded grumpily but sank lower.

Grunkle Ford turned as Dipper coughed and his face lit up at the sight of his great niece and nephew. Mabel frowned at her Grunkle.

Ford opened his mouth to say something but Mabel began first, "What happened?! Where's Grunkle Stan?! Why didn't you call us?! Grunkle Ford...!"

Ford looked worried as Mabel began again, "Are you guys okay? I was so worried..."

Ford coughed, "Well, I uh..."

Mabel's face whitened before Grunkle Stan spoke from behind Ford, "We're both fine, Mabel! Ford, next time tell her that first!" Ford sighed, "I was trying-" "And move out of the screen, I can't seem them!"

Ford shuffled sideways and then the twins caught their first glimpse of their other Grunkle. Stanley grinned at the kids as he huddled beneath a large burgundy blanket. A white bandage wrapped around his head, and under his hair which was devoid of his usual dark red hat. He was pale and slightly shivery as he clutched a mug of something hot and steamy in his hands, "Hey, kiddo. We didn't mean to make you guys wait so long."

Ford nodded, "I'm sorry we didn't call you sooner, but I thought it was best to wait until Stanley was stable. And conscious."

"Conscious?"

"Ah, well. It turns out that the kraken-like monster we last encountered was not an adult. It was a child and um, it's mother was not pleased with my brother."

Stan scoffed.

Ford rubbed his forehead, "Stanley this is serious!"

"I never said it wasn't!"

"But you keep trying to downplay this Stan! You almost _died!_ "

"It wasn't that big of a deal, Sixer-"

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other. What had their danger-prone Grunkle's gotten into now? (Probably more, what monster had they stumbled into and accidentally offended... Or provoked.)

"Grunkle Ford, _what happened?_ "

Grunkle Stan opened his mouth to answer, but Ford glared at him effectively cutting his brother off, "Well, as soon as I left you children and came on deck..."

* * *

 

_Ford threw open the door and his eyes widened at the sight of his brother trying to throw punches at a monster. It looked almost exactly like the creature they'd encountered a few days ago, the only difference being that it was three times its size and a great deal more angry._

_Stan ducked under a waving rubbery tentacle that was thick as his torso. The tentacle hit the deck with a tremendous cracking noise._

_Ford didn't need to see the damage to know that there was a new hole in the deck._

_He was still gaping when Stanley yelled, "Ford! Look out!"_

_Stan never called him Ford... Not unless it was serious. Ford moved and dropped to the deck, but he'd hesitated too long. One of the beast's appendages smacked into him; hurling him against the cabin with a thud._

_His head was throbbing and his back also, but no bones seemed to be broken. He managed to pull himself into an upright position, unfortunately, for the moment his legs seemed to be refusing to cooperate._

_It was then that he saw what Stan was doing._

_Ford thought that maybe Stan would check on him, but Stanley had done one of the things that he did best. He'd gotten mad._

_He wasn't ducking or dodging the tentacles anymore, he was punching them- smoothly transferring from defense to offense. And somehow, he was keeping up with the gigantic kraken-like creature._

_The creature was very surprised that Stanley was managing to beat it. The thing redoubled its efforts. Ford, though, could see his brother beginning to tire. He needed to get something- preferably one of his guns. Luckily, the hit had smacked him right into the cabin door._

_Ford forced his feet to work, clumsily standing and stumbling into the cabin._

_When he returned with one of his larger guns, mostly because he wanted to be absolutely sure he could kill the creature, he saw that Stan had busted out one of his hidden baseball bats._

_That habit had been one that had taken some getting used too. He'd found the first one hidden behind the steering wheel. Stan had acted so sheepish about it, that Ford had regretted bringing it up. Nevertheless, Stan had still lit up like a child at Christmas when Ford had applauded him for his foresight after an attack by a giant sea serpent._

_Now, once again, the baseball bats were proving useful._

_"Stanley, duck!"_

_Stan's eyes widened as he dropped to the floor. Ford fired, the recoil nearly making him fall over. The creature shrieked and retreated, casting a baleful red eye at Stanley as it submerged._

_Stan stood up, a grin spreading across his face, "You're late, Sixer!"_

_Ford smiled, "Better late than never, knucklehead."_

_Stanley took a step forward... It was then that the last great tentacle wrapped itself around Stan's leg and yanked him off balance._

_Stan hit the deck with a thump, head slamming into the hard wooden floorboards. He shouted with disoriented surprise, fingers clawing fruitlessly against the deck as he was dragged overboard into the frigid arctic waters._

_It happened so fast that Ford only stood; gaping. One minute that monster was gone and then the next, Stan had followed it down._

_Ford reacted, flicking the safety on before carelessly dumping the gun on the ground in his haste. He peered over the side of the boat, searching the gray waters, and looking for any sign of his brother._

_The water bubbled for a few moments before settling. Ford felt as if he were in a dramatic movie, waiting for the protagonist to emerge from the still waters._

_The burgundy knit cap bobbed to the surface, and then Stan's face appeared, as he gasped and clawed at the water. Ford sighed in relief, "Stan!"_

_He threw the life preserver and his twin paddled clumsy for it._

_Stan was alive._

* * *

 

"After that, he might've passed out from severe hypothermia. It was touch and go for awhile. He only regained consciousness early this morning at about one a.m."

Mabel frowned, "Grunkle Stan! What are you doing up?!"

Stan shrunk in his seat, a pout forming on his haggard face, "I wanted to make sure you weren't worrying, sweetie. I heard Ford hadn't called at all. Besides, I was right! You kiddo's were going crazy!"

Dipper nodded, "We- we kind've were. But Mabel's right. You should be in bed. Resting."

"I'll get plenty of rest when I'm dead, right Poindexter? Now what have you kids been up to while we were gone? Come on, give us all the juicy details."

Ford sighed and rolled his eyes, but settled at Stan's right. Dipper and Mabel grinned before launching into an incident that had happened on Friday at school. It only took half an hour for Ford to begrudgingly nod off into an exhausted doze. Stan chuckled with a, "He's going to be so mad he fell asleep. Ha. Worth it. Nerd hasn't slept at all since Thursday." He _was_ mad and he retaliated at the next Skype call by telling every embarrassing story he could remember about Stan.

There was delighted crying and joyful laughing as the Pines family throughly enjoyed themselves. After three long days, they were together again at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! :D Hope ya'll enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, and as always leave a review to let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> The title is an atbash cipher.


End file.
